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Office of the Press Secretary
(Columbia, Missouri)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release July 6, 2000
TO AMEND THE GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Section 502(c)(7) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the
"Trade Act") (19 U.S.C. 2462(c)(7)), provides that, in determining
whether to designate any country a beneficiary developing country under
this section, the President shall take into account whether that country
has taken or is taking steps to afford internationally recognized worker
rights to workers in that country. Section 502(d)(1) of the Trade Act
(19 U.S.C. 2462(d)(1)) provides that the President may withdraw,
suspend, or limit the application of duty-free treatment under the
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) with respect to any designated
beneficiary developing country based on consideration of the factors set
forth in sections 501 and 502(c) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2461 and
2462(c)). Section 502(f)(2) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2462(f)(2))
requires the President to notify the Congress and the affected country,
at least 60 days before termination, of the President's intention to
terminate the affected country's designation as a beneficiary developing
country for purposes of the GSP.
Section 502(e) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2462(e)) provides
that the President shall terminate the designation of a country as a
beneficiary developing country if the President determines that such
country has become a "high income" country as defined by the official
statistics of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Termination is effective on January 1 of the second year following the
year in which such determination is made.
Pursuant to section 502(d) of the Trade Act, and having
considered the factors set forth in sections 501 and 502(c), I have
determined that it is appropriate to suspend Belarus's GSP benefits
because it has not taken and is not taking steps to afford workers in
that country internationally recognized worker rights. In order to
reflect the suspension of benefits under the GSP for articles imported
from Belarus, I have determined that it is appropriate to modify general
note 4(a) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS).
Pursuant to section 502(e) of the Trade Act, I have determined
that Malta, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Slovenia meet the
definition of a "high income" country as defined by the official
statistics of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Accordingly, pursuant to section 502(e) of the Trade Act, I am
terminating the preferential treatment under the GSP for articles that
are currently eligible for such treatment and that are imported from
Malta, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Slovenia, effective January
1, 2002.
Section 604 of the Trade Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2483),
authorizes the President to embody in the HTS the substance of the
relevant provisions of that Act, and of other Acts affecting import
treatment, and actions thereunder.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United
States of America, acting under the authority vested in me by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including but
not limited to Title V and section 604 of the Trade Act, do proclaim
that:
(1) In order to reflect the suspension of benefits under the GSP
with respect to Belarus, general note 4(a) of the HTS is modified by
deleting "Belarus" from the list of independent countries, effective
with respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for
consumption, on or after 60 days after the date of publication of this
proclamation in the Federal Register.
(2) In order to terminate the designation of Malta, French
Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Slovenia as beneficiary developing
countries under the GSP, general note 4(a) of the HTS is modified by:
(a) deleting "Malta" and "Slovenia" from the list of
independent countries, and
(b) deleting "French Polynesia" and "New Caledonia" from the
list of nonindependent countries and territories, effective with respect
to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or
after January 1, 2002.
(3) Any provisions of previous proclamations and Executive Orders
that are inconsistent with the actions taken in this proclamation are
superseded to the extent of such inconsistency.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of
July, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence of
the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.